Editor’s note: This is the second part in a two-series article about Taylor Miterko signing with Oklahoma State. Part 1 was about Miterko’s time in Carlsbad. Part 2 is about Miterko’s upcoming seasons at Oklahoma State.

By deciding to attend Oklahoma State University even before his senior year began, Carlsbad's Taylor Miterko was able to focus on being one of the leaders for the Cavemen’s 2018 campaign and not worry about which of the 24 Division I school he would sign with.

This allowed Miterko to finish his high school career with a handful of accolades including being a All-District and All-State first-team offensive lineman in addition to being named to the North/South All-Star game.

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Those are all wonderful accomplishments for a high school player. But heading up to not just the collegiate level, but to a Power Five conference school means most other players have those same achievements.

For Miterko to stand out against a more elite group in the Big XII, he’ll have to improve both physically and mentally.

“You see a multiplicity of looks at this level,” Oklahoma State offensive line coach Josh Henson said. “Your thinking, knowledge and understanding of how to execute the blocks and techniques and assignments is a big deal, too. There’s a physical part, but there’s a knowledge part and that comes from experience.”

Carlsbad offensive line coach Chris Cerny believes Miterko will be a great fit for a Cowboy’s team that just put up 333 passing yards and 169 rushing yards against Missouri to win the 2018 Liberty Bowl, 38-33.

“Taylor is a tremendous run-blocking tackle,” Cerny said. “With his aggressive nature and ability, his pass-blocking skills are just as good. We always felt pretty confident with Taylor blocking the back side of our quarterback.”

Miterko, Henson and Cerny all agree that Miterko needs to put on at least 20 more pounds to truly be a dominant offensive lineman. Henson said most of his linemen are around 300 pounds. Miterko himself wants to try to get up to 315 pounds.

The weight gain will be the easy part for Miterko. Henson knows the true test is being mentally tough enough to survive the first year or two of college while Miterko’s body continues to develop.

“The transition from high school to college is very much like the transition from middle school to high school,” Henson said. “You take a freshman and put him on the offensive line and you can see the strength deficit, technique deficit and intensity deficit. It’s up to (Taylor) to make that up in the next few years. It’s not as drastic as coming from the collegiate level to the pros, but it’s still pretty drastic.”

There is a high probability that Miterko will not see any playing time until at least his sophomore year. Miterko has already said he’s fine if that happens and Cerny believes the additional year will be beneficial to Miterko’s maturation in the long run.

“A red-shirt year is going to give him that opportunity to get stronger,” Cernys said. “Because the game’s that much faster in college than in high school he’s going to have to adapt to it. That’s what he can get out of that red-shirt year. He’ll gain valuable experience because after that he’ll hopefully be in a spot to be fighting for a starting position.”

According to Henson, being red-shirted as a freshman for an offensive lineman is standard practice.

“I’ve had four freshmen linemen in my 18 years of coaching full-time as starters,” Henson said. “A couple of those, to be honest, started because of injuries. They weren’t quite ready yet. I’ve seen a few kids do it, but you’ve got to be pretty dang special to do it.”

Whenever Miterko does suit up for the Cowboys, he’s ready to help the team continue its storied program and add to its legacy, especially after watching the New Year's Eve game against Mizzou.

“I think that OSU beating an SEC team shows how high of a caliber the team is," Miterko said. They were explosive on offense and did a good job putting up yard and points. I'm looking forward to winning games and going far in that program."

Matthew Asher can be reached at 575-628-5524, Masher@currentargus.com or @Caveman_Masher on Twitter.